Bad Genes
by Western Blakehawke
Summary: White centric, not MW. Set after Exposure before Love Among The Runes. Sandeman's motives, Ames' thoughts.


Written on the 15th Sept 2003

Bad Genes? year 2021

Set after " Exposure" but before " Love Among The Runes"

Sandeman motives explored. Ames' thoughts.

WARNING contains multiple mentions of miscarriage!

Ames White hurried into his home carrying a briefcase full of the last batch of deciphered Manticore disks. He quickly shrugged off his coat and sat at his computer. _These have to contain the data I need!_ Ames thought desperately as he loaded the first disk. _The priestess is wrong! I know Ray's alive! I know he passed the test! My son isn't Weak! _Ames quickly scanned the data. Nothing! He angrily switched disks. _Damn it! He must have filed the data! It's why he betrayed us! Me! _Ames' thoughts turned to the traitor Sandeman, his father, and what drove him to betray his people. It was all in the Conclave's records, everything that made his father turn traitor. Ames instantly recalled the pertinent facts in those damming files on the traitor Sandeman!

1954

First wife

Married at 18

Married for 2 1/2 years

Two forced miscarriages

Daughter Natalia born 1956

Killed her when Natalia was weaned at 6 Months

1957

Second wife

Married at 21 

Married for 4 years

Two forced miscarriages

Three natural miscarriages

Killed her after third natural miscarriage

_He started out as the epitome of Familiar behaviour! Why the hell couldn't he remain that way! _Ames fumed 

1962

Natalia takes test and fails

_He accepted her death!_ _Blamed_ _her_ _mother's genes! Why_ _couldn't he accept the others!_ _Why did he betray me!_

1963

Third wife

Married at 27

Married for 3 years

Two forced miscarriages

Son Thomas and daughter Theresa born 1965

Killed her when twins, Thomas and Theresa were weaned at 6 Months

He followed our practices for years, even after many others got the Conclave to agree to lessen the number of marriages. He stuck to the male tradition of having as many wives as possible until your sixty. Ames starred at the screen, not really seeing it, lost in thought. _How could he become so weak as to let love rule his actions?_

1969

Fourth wife

Married at 33

Married for 2 years

Two forced miscarriages

Son Peter born 1970

Killed in car crash when Peter was 2 Months

1971

Thomas and Theresa take the test and fail

Thomas dies

Theresa is left brain damaged and removed to an asylum

_Would've_ _been_ _kinder to kill her _Ames thought _Stupid policy to allow the brain damaged and those made insane by the test to live. Even dumber to let those who are unbalanced but who never took the test, live!_ Ames paused _Living with father's constant prattle about the meek inheriting the Earth would drive anyone insane! I'm glad I only got a few of the lectures before the senile old fool deserted!_

1971

Fifth wife

Married at 35

Married for 3 1/2 years

Two forced miscarriages

Son John born 1974 

Killed her when John was weaned at 6 Months

1976

Peter takes test and fails

Peter! Ames thought disgustedly _His death was the one that started fathers obsession with using genetic engineering to create the immunity rather than selective breeding. The one that caused father to ultimately betray us by creating transgenic filth! By creating 452! _Ames slammed his fist onto his desk.

1977

Sixth wife

Married at 41

Married 3 Months 

Dies natural causes

Ames removed another useless disk from his laptop. _Damn it where is the information! _He mentally fumed but refrained from hitting the desk again. He didn't need the hassle right now of replacing it. _I need to go hunting! _Ames grinned evilly to himself. thinking of the pain he would inflict on the transgenic scum unfortunate enough to be caught by him. _Hopefully I'll catch 452 or 494. I'll make them tell me what happened to Ray as I slowly dismember them! _Ames cheerfully thought. And with renewed spirit he returned to the files. His mind replaying the last pieces of data on his father.

1979

Seventh wife

Married at 42

Married for 3 years

Two forced miscarriages

Son Robert born 1981

Killed her when Robert was weaned at 6 Months

1980

John takes the test and fails 

He is rendered insane and sent to an asylum

1981

Theresa finally succumbs

Sandeman refuses to marry again

Familiar telepaths work on him

_Why the hell didn't the telepaths spot that he was going to betray us! _Ames wondered as he'd done countless times since he first gained access to his fathers file. _They let him work on his gene splicing theories! Why didn't they curb this errant behaviour as they had his refusal to remarry? _Ames shrugged and shook his head knowing that this line of thought was useless as always. No one was ever going to explain that oversight. _And I'm left to pick up the mess my father made!_ Ames glared at the computer screen and removed another useless disk. 

1985

Telepathic conditioning worked

Ames' lips quirked in sardonic amusement as he remembered the line in his fathers file that preceded his fathers marriage to his mother. 'Telepathic conditioning worked' _No_ he thought_ Father had discovered the faulty gene in my siblings and other failed familiars. He concocted a test to perform in utero. I passed _Ames smiled then became sombre remembering_. But it wasn't always accurate_, _something went wrong with it and C.J was born. He was two when I passed the initiation and father decided to_ _try an improved version of his test on him._ _He failed. He failed every test father devised. So they ran. Father, C.J and mother, he couldn't kill her he loved her. _Ames paused thinking of his fathers falling in love with his mother and he with Wendy. _But I came to my senses! Ray no longer needed her so I no longer loved her!_

1986

Eighth Wife

Married at 50

Married for 20 years

Two forced miscarriages

Ames born 1988

Eight terminations

C.J born 1992

_Father went against standard practice when_ _he_ _decided to father another child with mother._ Ames recalled _She wanted another child so he capitulated!_ _One live birth per mate is the norm, few flout the convention. Those that do don't do so for love of their mate!_

1987

Robert takes the test and fails 

_Good job he was_ _living at one of the nurseries._ Ames thought _Or I might not be here! At least the Conclave had the sense to enforce the practice of bringing up earlier children whose human parent is deceased in Priest and Priestess run creches and only allowing supervised access to biological parents once every other month. Mother would've talked father into not allowing Robert to take the test. _Ames shook his head at another pointer to his fathers senility. _Marrying someone for love then telling them about us!_

Why didn't psi-ops pick up his weakness!

1994

Ames passes the test

I pass the test and seven months later my father turns traitor Ames sourly thought _School was hard enough without being the traitor's son! At least the conclave approved of my eight year old initiative in changing my surname and believed in my desire to wipe out the stain of Sandeman's_ _betrayal!_

2006

Sandeman traced to Manticore but escapes

Wife killed

C.J caught

C.J is mentally unstable sent to an asylum

Idiotic tradition that no one over six can be tested. Ames griped to himself. _Eighteen doing well at collage the Conclave are extremely pleased with me, then those idiot Phalanx manage_ _to lose Sandeman, and capture_ _C.J. Fourteen and crazy. It would have been better if he'd died with mother._ Ames finished looking at the last file on the last Manticore disk and scowled. _He kept detailed files on his freaks, but nothing on the faulty gene! _Ames fumed hitting the desk again, in his anger forgetting that he'd vowed not to. The force of the blow broke the desk, Ames' exceptional reflexes meant he snagged the laptop before it slid to the floor, placing it safely on a shelf. Ames surveyed the desk, now in two pieces and the pens, papers, disks and other things now on the floor. 

"Damn!" Ames yelled and continued to mutter curses as he retrieved the disks and other items, placing these with the laptop. He took three deep breaths forcing himself to calm down. He started planing his next move. _Okay, so Sandeman didn't leave a DNA profile of the faulty gene at Manticore, so I can't check it against Ray's DNA to prove he survived. _Ames thought stormily _Fine I'll hunt down 452 and extract the information slowly and painfully!_ A smile began to play on his lips as he visualised how he would go about extracting the information in the most painful ways possible. _I'll have her chained from the ceiling, forced to stand stretched out, her toes just touching the floor, her legs securely chained. _Ames grinned. _Then a tazer......_

The End

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